Now then. This morning, Rawlings was on WFAA's morning show visiting with co-host Ron Corning. The reason for the visit: the annual back-to-school fair at Fair Park, which begins Thursday morning. But toward the end, Corning asked about Nealy and the Price investigation and whether Rawlings regretted hiring the campaign consultant. At which point Rawlings said Corning's "misquoting" numbers. It gets interesting, or at least awkward, beginning at the 3:30 mark.

Update at 11:02 a.m.: Maybe this is what Rawlings meant by "misquoting." A Friend of Unfair Park directs our attention to the campaign finance report filed on July 15, in which it says the mayor's campaign paid an additional $35,000 to Nealy in June, half on "Walk Program/Phone Bank" and half on "consulting."

We Recommend

DMN is dead on the vine. Belo excised that cancer years ago so as not to adversely affect their TV share price and the multiples involved with valuing a TV station. DMN has a conflicted reporter working the story. WFAA has a pro who obviously wants to move up in the TV news game and is going to hit hard in real time without the opportunity to edit. Still proud of the Observer's reporting on the JWP story. Will Rawlings talk to you? The 25 year in prison question is still...who is flipping on who?

For the simple reason he was not smart enough to hire a consulting firm that was not part of the previous corruption trial, he is getting exactly what he deserves. To tell the complete truth, I hope he is found guilty of wrongdoing and sent upstream with Don Hill. We dont need anymore of these shenanigans from idiots that are this stupid. It also disgust me that someone buys the entire southern vote through middlemen like Neely/JWP, who then in turn, shares the $$$$ with southern Preachers that make their flock vote a certain way. Sickening!!!

Rawlings might not be the bad guy, but he made a rooky mistake and hired a consultant that was involved or associated in a previous corruption trial. The old saying goes, "don't buy a loud cheesy suit if you don't want to bring attention to yourself". He wanted to win and he rolled the diced on this one. Now his 4 years will be stunted with this dark cloud. Everything he do will be under watchful eyes. Also, what fortune 500 company wants to come to Dallas "right now" with a 4 year corruption case ongoing against one of the leading deal shaker money maker. Pilgrim Pride already hauled a**. Oak Farm would leave if they had somewhere to go. They were South Dallas fortune 500's. The back to school thing is great, but this school thing he is doing with CEO's is all he can do right now. He needs to give "it" up, and move away from the Nealy issue and become the mayor I think he can become.

Mike Rawlings is not the bad guy here.Mike hired a lead consultant for his campaign who then put together a campaign team. One thing that Mayor Mike did was go look at their operation and ask questions. Kathy alway ask for big money,what surprise me is she always gets it. Pull her last campaign Max Wells,Tom Dunning and etc.

What this all boils down to is money was paid through Kathy Nealy to give to Price so he could go to all the black preachers and give them money so they would tell their congregations to vote for Rawlings. This has been going on for years. Its how White politicians get the black vote.

This wasn't a payoff to the south Dallas people for their vote just like he didn't steer contracts to his cronies when he was with the Park board. Rawlings fits right in with Nealy and JWP. At least one can say that they is racial equality here - all have little ethics, regardless of skin color.

Ron Kirk didn't give the black preachers in South Dallas "walking around money", figuring they'd turn out and work for him 'cause he was a Bro.

He had his headed handed to him to 'disrespectin'.

That money has always been in cash, often way into the thousands.

I doubt there's any receipts.

Oodles of preachers ought to be greatly concerned.

Same deal with Trinity River, Convention Hotel, building AAA, you lay down enough 'walking around money', in theory intended to educate and get folks to the polls, you're gonna carry South Dallas. That's just the way it is.

Sounds like Ron Corning may have a bright future in Dallas news. We need more journos w/ the brass balls to ask the mayor on a fluff morning show about real issues. I have a gut feeling this rabbit hole goes much deeper than anyone wants to admit..Im ready to take the trip and see where it ends up...

Is he from Texas? As in, has he been here for a while? Watched the clip and that's the first time I heard his voice. He seems to have no accent or maybe even Northern accent. Not a criticism because I sound like a hick.

I think Rawlings is getting really bad advice somewhere. Someone is telling him to just put his head down, talk about helping the children and keep walking and after a while that bad dog named Media will stop running out of the alley and biting him in the ass about Kathy Nealy. His problem is that the dog isn't named Media. It's name is FBI. He needs to start throwing some steaks at it. I hear it likes big old juicy ribeyes from Rudoph's.

He pretty much outed himself by stating in the same sentence he had "zero name awareness" yet won the election in the southern sector. You'd think he'd dance around the subject a little more deftly than that.

Brett Shipp interviewed Lorlee Bartos about Rawlings's campaign reports. And she called it like she saw it - fraudulent and overpriced. But Rawlings brushes her aside by saying no one is a campaign expert unless HE hired them for his campaign.

Yeah, that's gonna hold up in court when Price, Nealy and Rawlings all get indicted.

Part of the problem with the DMN's coverage of Dallas politics is that its writers and columnists are too close to Carol Reed and Mari Woodleif. I see a little bit of this with D Magazine, too. See Rogers, Tim, Book It. Sometimes it feels like they are writing verbatim talking points from the two consulting powerhouses.

I think we all know from whom he is getting his advice. That person is in panic mode as she worries about how the indictments will impact her business or herself.

My advice to Mike? Address the Nealy issue head on. "I'm a political novice and mistakes were made." And, "ee need to change the culture of politics in Dallas," But he has to believe this and then use the bully pulpit to influence change and behaviors.

Mayor Mike said he would use 30% of his time per week calling on CEOs to relocate to Dallas. Who would want to move their business to a place where the reality and/or perception of civic culture is one of "can't do" meets Chicago politics?

The JWP news cycle is in year one of three to four years. Changing the subject will not redirect the conversation. Not with the circus only beginning.

That's the FIRST thing that came to my mind as he was dismissing the "experts." They can't be campaign experts because Mike Rawlings didn't hire them. If they were REAL experts, Mayor Mike would have grossly overpaid them as well.

Recently, on a tour of gas well sites in Arlington, I sat beside Mayor Rawlings and our conversation revealed that he was born in or around Pampa, Texas. He lived in a foreign country (outside Texas) for several years, but he was born a Native Texan.

He didn't say that they weren't experts because HE didn't hire them. He said they weren't experts because THEY werent' hired. Meaning, there were three other candidates in the race, all campainging for southern sector votes and none of them hired Lorlee Bartos or Betty Culbreath to run their southern sector grassroots outreach and no candidate for mayor has ever hired Bartos or Culbreath to run southern sector outreach. Nice try though

And to Mike Rawlings point... What Dallas Mayoral race has Lorlee Bartos or Betty Culbreath ever won or even ran Southern Sector Grassroots Operations for??? Must have all three components: 1) City of Dallas Mayor 2) Won and 3) Consultant for Southern Sector Grassroots. The answer is none... So they can speculate on how they think the money was questionable but they are not an expert on how to spend money on winning Southern Sector Grassroots Operations for a Mayors Race...

No didn't work his campaign, just a supporter of him, especially over Kunkle. And I feel that the Observer et al needs a different pov to all of these biased negative insinuating reoprts that try and discredit Rawlings/JWP/Nealy etc then try and cover there ass at the end of the story by saying..."for the record, no one in this case as been charged with a crime"... like that is supposed to make every lie they speculated okay

Enough said... Not to mention that Betty Culbreath is no political science major, infact she is the former Health and Human Services Director for Dallas County... as in, flu shots and air conditioners not southern dallas grassroots outreach for Mayoral races

Ok then... Simple question. What would make them an expert in how much a budget would cost for someone with no name recognition to win 3/5ths of the votes in the Southern Sector in 3 months timeline? What type of person would be an expert in that category? Um maybe someone who has done it before, but I'm waiting to hear your answer though...

I'm not saying whether or not they actually are experts. I honestly don't know. Someone at WFAA thinks they are, but that's not really the issue. I'm saying that your and Mike's standard for judging expertise is not legitimate. Who cares if they've never been paid by a campaign?

No you didn't claim that they were experts, but you are relying on their commentary as a base for you statement as if in your opinion they are an expert.

I've given you the evidence that they are not experts. Again go back and check any Mayoral race Campaign Finance report at the City Secretary Website, you will not see 1 single payment from any wining or loosing campaign for that matter to Lorlee Bartos or Betty Culbreath as a Consultant for the Southern Sector.

So if I watch First 48 for ten years straight does that make me an expert witness for the State to use??? Absolutely not. He doesn't have present any evidence that they are not experts. But can you provide evidence that they are?

Granted, going back to the tape I recognize that he just said "hired." I was wrong. However, his logic is still flawed. He presented no evidence to refute the experts' claims, and instead dismisses their expertise based on irrelevant criteria. Being hired by a campaign is not a necessary condition for one's status as an expert.

Doesn't it concern you that someone would pay $2 m. for a job that won't pay a quarter of that over the term? Either he's an idiot financially, or, there's some sugar being handed around that isn't disclosed. Both are troubling.

There is an account for the 2mil...How about you go to www.dallascityhall.com and click on City Secretay Website and then click on Campaign Finance Reports. If you look at the summary report presented by Alyn Media they breakdown what the money was for. I live in Oak Cliff let me tell you what I observed... My house was flagged in April on a Saturday, with a person wearing a Mike Rawlings Tshirt who asked for my support and left a piece of literature. My house was flagged again 2 days before the General Election, my house was flagged again 3 days before the runoff. Again these were not mailers they were left by walkers, I received a live call not robo in April, 1 during early vote and 1 on election day then I received 3 more calls during the run-off. I voted on election day during the general election and I saw a poll greeter their at my precinct, and I early voted during the run-off and I saw a poll greeter their too. It's my understanding that the 60K you speak of was only for a Walk Program in North and East Dallas. The company that was paid if you look at the report for yourslef (doesn't take a rocket scientist to research public records) was paid to Democracty Toolbox, who I know for a fact (with working with the Democratic Party) does not run Phone Banks or Poll Greeters...

No one has received an "accounting" on the $2M that he spent. It is a mistake to generalize that he only spent $270k in the Southern Sector (and spent the remaining $1.73M in areas of Dallas outside the Southern Sector). Here are the facts that we do know (from earlier reports). He spent more than $300k with Kathy Nealey in South Dallas, but only $60k with the campaign consultant that handled the West, North, and East Dallas areas for him. The Nealey expenditures appear disproportionately high, but I am not a "campaign expert"!

If you look at Rawlings expenses, he spent well over 2 million. 270k for the general and runoff paid to Nealy is only 10% of the budget... 1/3 of population as you put it only gets 10% of the budget??? If you ask me, southern Dallas got underspent.

....however, don't you think it is strange that Rawlings spent sooooooo much money with Nealey in the Southern Sector vs. the amount spent in West/North/East Dallas, especially when the Southern Sector represents only about 1/3 of the population of the City?